On the other hand, an on-bike repair kit will be a much smarter selection of tools that you are most likely to need. You should figure out the type of screws that are fitted on your bike and the things that are most likely to go wrong on a ride. Address only these things so as not to burden yourself too much with unnecessary stuff. Moreover, there are bike repair kits used on long rides and those used on shorter rides. The longer the ride, the more tools, and spare parts you will have to bring unless you want to have a very long hike back home.
This is the shop I hoped to find when I began commuting two years ago. I'm a daily commuter and I love knowing that these guys will help me almost anytime that I need it. Andy, Jake and Brad listen and make sure to help me as best they can and are always speedy about it. Additionally, they encourage me to do my own work on my bikes when I have the time/when they know I'm capable and I really appreciate that encouragement.
The Bicycle Repair Shop does rentals by the hour or by the day. They have reasonable rates. They have solid, lightweight hybrid bikes so you can tackle train tracks and brick streets and hills. They also have road bikes for the more experienced. You can reserve online in advance. You get a helmet and a lock with your rental. The staff in the shop are friendly and will suggest routes and point out hills if you're new to the area. And believe me these hills are no joke!
A two-stage hand pump tries to marry the best features of both types of pumps: the quick inflation of high volume that can achieve the higher psi ranges of high pressure. But to steal a quote from our floor pump guide, “You pump eight times or you pump 10 times—what does it matter?” That’s a quote from Daimeon Shanks, who at the time was a mechanic for the Garmin-Sharp pro tour team—that’s right, Tour de France, baby.

Create emergency patches on tires or tubes with this Bike Tire Repair Kit. Each pack comes with everything you need to fix a flat, including a spokes wrench. When you find a puncture or nail hole in your riding essential, grab an application from this bicycle repair kit to hold in enough air so you can continue on your way until a replacement tire can be located. It includes adhesives and patches of different sizes for your convenience. Made of steel, the bicycle tire repair kit is durable and long-lasting. Keep the set with you at all times while riding your bicycle so that you have it in the event of an emergency. The size of the kit makes it easy to carry in a backpack or zippered cargo bag. Cover different sizes and types of holes and tears that make riding difficult with this Bike Tire Repair Kit.

Do not take your Bike to Kyle's Bike Shop they handled my bike so poorly they can not work on Vintage Schwinn' and the attitude they had if it wasn't a high dollar bike don't expect good service. I had to find my own parts, had to take the bike back twice to get the wheel trued and they ruined my bike it is so scrapped up the Schwinn is gone on the side of the bike. If you care about your bike do not take it here.

Spare tube: Sometimes, a tube is just too damaged to be patched, or has had a failure such as the valve stem breaking off which isn’t something that can be patched. To save weight and space, I usually keep a lightweight version of the right size tube for my bike. Since one of the first things I do with most bikes that I own is switch them over to heavy-duty thorn resistant tubes, I just take one of the originals and put that in the toolkit.

Don’t rely on others. “People need to recognize that now there are different cassette sizes, so there are different chains depending on what gear you have. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh my friend is always prepared they always have the stuff, I’m not going to bring anything.’ All of the stuff now is very bike-specific, and you have to have your own package of stuff.”

Owning a bicycle is a good idea, but taking care of it yearns for an experts’ piece of mind. You should not worry too much about taking your bicycle to a mechanic when you can handle the repairing on your own. It will rather save you the cost of every moment you get into a problem. Grab a pick of one of the toolkits from the above review. I assure you that, absolutely no day will you seek a mechanic for service.

I just got a tune up on my bike and it rides so much better now! It takes half as much effort to petal, it is like a new bike. The guys who work there are so nice and always make you feel like your time is important. They don't overcharge or sell you things you don't need. I thought for sure I needed a new chain, but as it turns out, it's fine! He gave me some extra foam for my bike helmet, free of charge! I'll definitely come back here for all my bike needs!

If you have just a short time in Seattle there is only one way to see the city. Walk at 2.5 miles an hour? I don't think so. Take buses and trams that you have to wait for and that might not even get you where you need to go? No way Jose. Drive your car? Hahahaha get outta here, don't even talk to me. But what about a BICYCLE??? Now that's the ticket.
A good patch will stick to your tube enough to keep air from leaking out. A great patch will act like a second skin and actually strengthen the tube where it’s applied, flexing and stretching with the tire. After 36 hours of testing, our official endorsement goes to the Rema TT 02 Touring Repair Kit. Its patches do everything other patches do, just better. The edge of the patch is also ruffled, which provides more edge surface area to bond—that’s a good thing.
These are some great ideas, especially the simple ones like bringing a garbage bag. That’s something so easy and cheap that it’s easy to forget entirely, but as you say, it can make a huge difference in the right circumstances. It’s also good that you discuss some minor bike repairs. That’s another thing that can salvage or destroy your ride. You want to be as prepared as possible for the best possible experience.
Unlike floor pumps, most hand pumps do not have pressure gauges. To get readings during my original round of testing for this guide, I built a special rig involving simple hardware-store parts. But the experts I spoke to seem divided on the usefulness of gauges. Half thought they were unnecessary, added bulk, and drove up cost. Why do you need a gauge if you know 100 pumps inflates your tire? But the other half liked them, because the “thumb test” is notoriously inaccurate.
Want to be your own grease monkey? This plain-English guidegives you expert tips for keeping your bicycle in great conditionand handling most repairs by yourself. You'll also see how toextend the life of your bike, increase your riding comfort, andimprove safety through routine maintenance. No matter the make orsize of bicycle, this hands-on resource has all the tips youneed!
Keychain style flashlight or headlamp, LED type, not incandescent: The keychain style is tiny and lightweight, the headlamp style is a bit bulkier but easier to use. You can get these for a couple of bucks or less at the local big box hardware store. The LED ones are lighter, more durable and last considerably longer. Very useful if you need to make a repair after dark! I keep a keychain style one as a backup as I normally have a headlamp in my backpack.
If you’re going to use the chain whip you just made, you’ll also need a way to get that cassette off. A lockring remover is a must-have; unless you use one of the shady removal methods I’ve seen on the internet—which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend unless you don’t care much about the condition of the wheel after you use them. I recommend Park Tool’s iterations here that cost about $6, but you’ll need to buy the specific one for your brand/type of cassette. (By the way, I’m assuming you already have an adjustable wrench laying around somewhere to use with this tool. If you don’t, well, you’ll need one of those too.)

For the budding mechanic: A good pocket sized repair guide. One good option is the “Pocket Guide to Emergency Bicycle Repair” by Ron Cordes and Eric Grove. It’s only 3.5×4.5 inches and a half inch thick. I don’t carry this myself, but for someone who’s new to this whole bike repair business, it’s really helpful to have. A future blog post will cover this book in detail.

In addition to the Rema patches, put a new tire tube in your kit. The best method for dealing with a flat roadside is to swap out the tube and save the task of patching for later. If you’re not sure what size your tires are, it’s printed on the sidewall of the tire. This inner-tube buying guide has some photos of where to look. What brand is almost irrelevant as many tubes get manufactured in the same place, so whatever your local shop has behind the counter for under $10 will work fine. The only reason to spend more would be to save weight.

More than any other tool in the kit, a reliable lever makes changing a tire easier, especially if you have road bike tires, which are difficult to remove. However, throughout testing, levers seemed to be the one item more prone to failure and poor design than anything else. For example, I found a random orange lever floating around my basement and I threw it in the test pool for fun—it seemed solid enough … until I began prying at the rim of a tire. It bent directly in half, slowly and smoothly, like taffy, and then was boomerang shaped forevermore.

On a very sunny Saturday I had a rear spoke break - you can imagine that no shop was willing to promise a quick repair! I was so fortunate to find this shop and will come back - Andy not only told me to come down and he'd get it fixed, he had his assistant work with another couple while he measured, cut to the right size, installed and trued the wheel while I waited! It was awesome, and the whole place had a great feel and good people. Best of all he charged a very fair $20 for all that work - I would have paid a premium for the quick service! After experiencing lots of attitude at other shops and poor service, this was a real find. I hope you will check them out, they have a great selection of bikes and accessories too! Good people and good craftsmanship should be rewarded.

Based on what we found, we chose the most relevant items and used them all. To test patches, I repaired holes using four different types of patches, from Novara (REI’s now-discontinued house brand), Park Tool, and Rema. Patching a tube isn’t hard but there are a few tricks, and the key was attention to detail and patience. I was extremely diligent in following proper patch procedure, which includes a thorough sanding of the entire area to be patched (for max stickiness) and properly letting the vulcanizer dry on both surfaces before applying. For the peel-and-stick patches, I went so far as to prep the area with canned air to ensure as tight a seal as we could possibly muster.

A multitool is a highly versatile piece of repair equipment that can address most of your maintenance needs. Ideally, you should use it before a ride to tighten and adjust everything properly, but sometimes it’s necessary on a ride as well. If you encounter a loose screw, realize your saddle height is not right, or that your brakes need tightening, you will be happy to have it.
A plastic garbage bag, or $2 disposable poncho: Just in case of an unexpected downpour or getting caught out after dark. More than once, I’ve gone for a ride on a beautiful day with a perfect forecast, not taken a jacket and had the weather go south on me. Being able to cover up can mean the difference between just mild discomfort or a freezing cold, shivering ride home!
It includes nine tools: seven hex bolts, one torx bolt (the star-shaped one), and a Phillips screwdriver (also the star-shaped one). Like Peter says in our guide, if you have a newer mountain bike or road bike it pays to take a quick look at what types of tools you need, as torx bolts are becoming more common. And a quick glance at the bottom of your shoes or derailleur bolts will confirm if a Phillips head is the right choice.
Next, two-stage designs. There are two types of hand pump. HV (high-volume) pumps, ones that pump a lot of air but don’t have a lot of pressure, which are used for mountain bikes. The Lezyne Alloy Drive is a high-volume pump. Then there are HP (high-pressure) pumps, which pump a small amount of air but can inflate to very high pressures and are used on road bikes. Our top pick is a high-pressure pump.
We're Arizona's top rated and 5 times running "America's Best" Rated Bike Shop by the NBDA. From mountain bikes, kids, comfort, fitness and road bikes we sell and service them all! Are E-bikes your thing? Our Gilbert location Is our hub for electric bike sales and service. Swing by and see us... Family owned and operated by Brandee and Al since 2001.The best type of bike for exercise depends what level of rider you are and whether you would rather ride on trails or on the road. There is a type of road bike that is called a “Fitness Bike,” and features a lightweight frame and narrow tires, but do not have a drop handlebar. This may be the best type of bike for someone who intends to ride regularly and strenuously on the roads. If you plan to do a lot of trail riding, the best bike for exercise would probably be a mountain bike. For a person who uses bikes for transportation and exercise, but doesn’t go off-road, the hybrid bike build is a good type of bike.